OpenCities sells: Denver govtech company acquires Australian startup with Kansas City HQ

An Australia-based govtech startup with a sizable Kansas City operation has sold. 

OpenCities — a hub-like platform that digitizes city forms and requests — was acquired by Denver-based Granicus, the companies announced Thursday, solidifying a deal that’s expected to better define what the future of civic engagement might looks like.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“By joining Granicus, with its reach of over 5,500 government customers, we will accelerate our mission to re-imagine the digital front doors of governments worldwide,” Alex Gelbak, OpenCities co-founder and CEO said in a release.

OpenCities operates its U.S. headquarters in Kansas City. The company was named to the 2021 GovTech 100 list.

Granicus’ cloud-based, first-of-its-kind civic engagement platform, directly connects governments with the people they serve. The company boasts more than 250 million subscribers and has partnered with at least 5,500 federal, state, and local government agencies — making it a perfect match to carry on the mission of OpenCities, Gelbak said. 

“Through our technology, data, and shared vision, we can deliver groundbreaking, next-generation resident experiences that are simply unparalleled in the market.”

Luke Norris, senior vice president of government relations and growth — previously head of local government solutions at Kansas City-grown PayIt — helped launch OpenCities’ Kansas City office in 2018. The expansion provided a central location with quick access to other cities, affordability and a density of government tech firms, Norris told Startland News at the time.

Click here to read more about OpenCities’ 2018 decision to expand operations in Kansas City. 

Today, we join forces with the incredible folks at @Granicus and @BangtheTable – a union of hearts, minds and capabilities that will help us deepen resident and government relationships around the world!https://t.co/Qw6ZLkOsW6 pic.twitter.com/0Ev64dtV4s

— OpenCities (@OpenCitiesInc) June 18, 2021

The scale of Granicus doesn’t only include the acquisition of OpenCities. The company also purchased Australia-based Bang the Table — the company behind online engagement platform, EngagementHQ,  which has connected more than 17 million people with an easy and secure way to participate in and inform key, civic-focused decision making. 

“Uniting the three market leaders in digital civic engagement into a single platform, Granicus will transform the way governments and residents engage,” Granicus said. 

“Great digital customer experiences are driven by data and modern experience platforms, and great resident experiences with government require the same,” added Mark Hynes, Granicus CEO. 

“Granicus, OpenCities, and Bang the Table are bringing together the industry’s richest sets of resident experience data and coupling them with intelligent, multichannel delivery platforms to give governments the ability to seamlessly enable intuitive, predictive, and personalized digital experiences, like never before,” he continued.

“Together, we’re igniting deeply informed, transparent, and responsive governments, better-engaged communities, and dynamic experiences that deliver more meaningful outcomes for governments and the people they serve.”